DUEMA Report: How Was Mili E’s First Week?

By Iain Martin

In the hours after Ed Miliband beat his brother to the Labour leadership, a small and exclusive club was formed: the Don’t Underestimate Ed Miliband Association (DUEMA). So far we have struggled to recruit members.

It should not be confused with OEMA (the Overestimating Ed Miliband Association, which was founded by various left-wing bloggers and has Lord Kinnock as its honorary president for life). OEMA has decided that Mili E will definitely be the next PM, which is as foolish as declaring at this stage that he won’t.

ZUMApress.com

I stress again, nowhere in the founding articles of DUEMA does it say that Ed Miliband will win the next election. Our contention is actually very simple. After all the upsets and shocks of recent years it would be foolish to write him off. That’s all.

So, how’s he doing at the end of week one? Have developments suggested he deserves to be be underestimated, overestimated, viewed with some circumspection or deposited in the dustbin of left-wing history?

DUEMA (the Don’t Underestimate Ed Mili Association) has undertaken some rigorous independent analysis. For Ed Miliband and members of his “New Generation” there is good news. And there is bad news.

Good news for Ed fans:

1) Mili E’s conference speech wasn’t a disaster. It wasn’t the Gettysburg address, but it didn’t need to be. His depressed conference required cheering up, and in the circumstances he produced a calmly delivered and (towards the end) punchy first effort.

2) Nick Brown got whacked. More on this later. But in moving so swiftly against a lynchpin of the Gordon Brown operation that had helped deliver him the leadership — telling Nick Brown he isn’t wanted as chief whip — Ed M showed considerable steel.

3) The “Newsnight” interview with Jeremy Paxman wasn’t bad. Despite suffering from a terrible cold, Ed vindicated a key DUEMA observation: He’s by far the more relaxed and natural media performer of the two brothers. David (David who?) was always terrible at this stuff — appearing to viewers as an über-geek trying and failing to mimic Tony Blair’s techniques. Ed dealt with Paxman well, even when he tried to hand Labour’s leader a Rubik’s cube to test claims that Mili E can finish one in under 90 seconds.

Bad News for Ed fans:

1) The mood is for writing him off, despite the crazed antics of the Kinnockites of OEMA and the more nuanced proclamations of DUEMA. He isn’t “toast,” but a lot of people presume that he is. And once these perceptions take hold they are hard to shift. Ask William Hague or Iain Duncan Smith.

2) Sinus trouble: It may have been exacerbated by conference flu, tiredness and stress, but he’s going to have to get something done here. He can’t give future speeches or hit the campaign trail sounding as though the treble has been turned down and he’s speaking through a tea towel.

Comments (5 of 6)

The main bear factor, though, is the electoral cycle. Precedented by the two previous regimes (Labour 3 elections won and 13 years in power; Conservatives 4 elections and 18 years), the Conservatives are more likely to win the next election than not. Can the by then not so young Ed Miliband keep going for eight years or more without gaining Downing Street?

7:20 pm October 2, 2010

Barnehurst Bob wrote :

The trouble is Hugo Chav the 'Bearish' part will damage the country when, not if, the bastards get into power again. I speak as a man who works manually on building sites. I can see that my income is dependent on a buoyant economy. Socialism does not work, never has anywhere its been tried. My concern is that they get back into power 10 or so years later when the memories of their incompetence has faded and do again what they've always done. Introduce socialism, poison, into the economy and screw my retirement. As a favour, can anyone tell me, at the rate they were spending more than we earned how long would it be before the British economy crashed. Which it obviously would as we run out of credit on the markets. In my simplistic way I look upon the American credit crunch as the catalyst, our problems were deep rooted and the cause was spending money we just didn't have. Thanks in advance.

1:30 pm October 2, 2010

Bruce wrote :

no 3 the golden couple. for some reason there seems to be a perception they are financially competent. don't think so Ed give them two non jobs in cabinet, oh wait a minute we want Tories to win, make them both chancellor a sort of job share

10:12 pm October 1, 2010

Kevin wrote :

Count me in as a member of DUEMA. That said, I think Muddle-Ed is a better description after hearing his interviews on the radio earleir this week.